Friday, May 28, 2021

Really Random Thursday, 5/27/21

(this post is a day late because Blogger wouldn't let me post pictures yesterday. And really, what is the point without pictures??)

Over a year ago, we won a dinner for six made and served by friends in our church. It was a raffle and we basically stuffed the ballot box, realizing that we could easily lose, but knowing that all the money went to a very good cause. Luckily, we won! But because of the pandemic, we were not able to "in" on our dinner until last week.

But oh my! Was it ever worth the wait! We chose four good friends to join us, piled in our car, and headed to Milt and Bendta's house. It was a beautiful California evening. All those times I wonder why we keep living in this state because of bad air quality and high taxes, it just takes a few of these evenings to remind me why we stay. (Oh that, and family of course...)

We began the evening with appetizers out on the patio.

The roses in the centerpiece were beautiful and fragrant. The view to the pool and orchard beyond was also lovely.



When dinner was ready, we went inside and sat around this lovely table.

The first course was Caesar salad with homemade croutons.
The main course was grilled asparagus, this melt-in-your-mouth cut of beef (and I should have taken the picture from a different perspective because I'm pretty sure it was 3" thick!), and yummy mashed potatoes.

Dessert was a refreshing bowl of mango and pineapple sorbet.

Dinner was beyond scrumptious, but the best part was having a relaxed evening to chat with friends whom we have known for a long time, made extra special since we have been separated for such a long time from evenings like this.

Our gracious hosts and extraordinary chefs, Milt and Bendta.
And friends...

Back row: Mark, Lois, and Paula
Front row: Me, Marilyn and Jenny

My cousin, Cathy, was going through some boxes and found these pictures in my paternal grandmother's scrapbook.

The one on the far right is my father. I wish I knew who the other three men were. A good reminder of the importance of labeling both pictures and quilts.
This was probably when I was a junior in high school.
Sixth or seventh grade?
Mark forwarded some funny memes to me this week.


We actually save all our fast food napkins and use them for lunch on school days.

Or in our case, Mark planning an upcoming getaway to Santa Cruz...

I went to my first water polo match the other day. Even though the swimming season has been very brief, Levi is enjoying playing water polo. I googled throughout a lot of the match (number of periods, basic rules, etc...).  He's number 10, making a nice pass.

Small things that made me extraordinarily happy this week.

I found a flip clock screen saver for my PC. Which actually flips. So cool. Did you ever have one of these clocks?

Due to my mild obsession with the Nintendo Switch game, Animal Crossing (which I am blaming entirely on grandkids...), I now have a two-room house. I love my main living quarters, complete with a typewriter and cool espresso machine.

But the best part, since I was able to expand to have another room, is the sewing room!! Good lighting, quilting supplies, ironing board and a nice wooden sewing kit. When my grandson asked why I had two wooden wardrobes, I told him, "Fabric storage. Duh..."

It really is the little things...

I've been working on the border on this project, which will be the center medallion for something larger.

Mutiple other projects...
and I'm getting closer to finishing this intense project. The center panel is nearly all cut out so I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. That "respect" block in the lower right corner--224 pieces in a block only 10x15"!! Like I said...intense.

We have slowed down on Amazon orders, but this might not be a bad idea to have nearby.

Enjoy the weekend. It's supposed to be 106 degrees here on Monday and Tuesday. Yikes!!


9 comments:

05 08
Anne / Springleaf Studios said... #

Your dinner looked very delicious. We rarely eat like that so it makes my mouth water. Love the meme about the salad and oreos . . . so true. And yes I had a flip clock as a teenager. Yellow! Loved it because it matched my room. Used it all through college.

Anne / Springleaf Studios said... #

Love all your quilty projects too. Especially the tattoo blocks. What's the name of the block with the narrow plus in the middle? I've seen it but can't place it. IG perhaps.

Rochelle aka Bella Quilts said... #

Yum! That meal looked delicious. So wonderful that you could enjoy it with friends after such a long confinement period. The salad and asparagus both looked delicious and the dessert....Loved the memes, they always make my day. And of course you added a sewing room. I wondered as I read it was a two room house. You did not disappoint. Have a wonderful weekend.

Patti said... #

Love you posts so much.

Jacqui's Quilts said... #

Wow what a dinner! Hoping we will be able to have dinners together with friends and family soon. We're still in lock down in Canada, but there is light at the end of the tunnel :-). Not envious of your 106 weather for next week!! BUT, we're at 4C this morning which is 39F!! Brrrrr.. A cold snap after a hot week last week. But, by next weekend it's supposed to be back up to 25C (77 F) and feel like 31C (87F). We've had real yo yo weather. Your quilt blocks with the sayings is a lot of work, but so beautiful!!! WOW!

Christine said... #

Late 60s ... My first job ... I spent my first paycheck on a flip clock!

OPQuilt said... #

Gosh, I needed this post! It's so great to see you sitting down with friends and having a delicious dinner. I'm sure that great conversation was part of it, too. And I love your hair--different do? So nice to read all the memes and to see what you're up to. Happy Memorial Day to you, too!

Needled Mom said... #

What a wonderful raffle gift! It looks like so much fun too. Love the design wall! You have lots of fun projects going on there. Great old pictures! It would be fun to know all of the people in the old photos, but no one ever thought about labeling them. NOW, we do.

Robby said... #

Late as usual, at least I eventually get here. That dinner party was in a setting more beautiful than many a restaurant, with food to match! Yay for water polo. I was a swimmer and water polo was a reward (and recovery day) if we won a big meet or did better than expected. And I remember very little except getting my cornea scratched when some *boy* decided he should hit the ball instead of letting me get it because some boys are like that. You've got so many beautiful projects on the go there, although I know you've finished your piecing on that intense one. Now? I need an Oreo. Ha, ha!